Never Trust the Shield
by Dana1
Summary: RAW was full of lies and the liar isn't who you think it is.
1. Surprise

Title: Never Trust the Shield

Author: Dana

Rating: PG

Warnings: Wrestling violence.

Summary: RAW was full of lies and the liar isn't who you think it is.

Time frame: Fic starts during the 1/28/13 RAW and goes completely AU from there.

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone you recognize.

CM Punk was in a bad mood from the moment he arrived in Las Vegas. He had lost the title to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at the Royal Rumble. What really pissed him off was that he beat The Rock in the middle of the ring. It wasn't his fault that someone had power bombed Rock through a table. He was no idiot. Of course he was going to take advantage of Rock being down. He had seen the match afterwards. Why did everyone think he had hired the Shield? He and Ambrose had a few words when he went to FCW to sign autographs. So what if he teamed with Rollins teamed together last summer? He had teamed with Cena a few times that didn't mean they were friends.

"Hey Punk," Paul Heyman called as he entered the lockerroom. "My performance review is coming up soon. I'd appreciate it if you came out to back me. I don't know what Vince has on me but we both know it's not true."

"Yeah," Punk said as he took out his cellphone. "I'll be out there."

Heyman walked away. Punk checked his texts and saw that Colt was having a great time in Japan. His girlfriend Amy texted him saying that she'd meet him at the airport the next day. He read his twitter page and saw the usual garbage. Nothing worth retweeting though. People were calling what he did a temper tantrum. Had they not watched the Royal Rumble? Even they had to realize that he had been robbed.

"Hey Punk," a voice said from the doorway.

He looked up and saw Brad Maddox standing there. He had an apologetic look on his face.

"Get out of my lockerroom," Punk yelled.

Brad stepped into the lockkerroom with a cameraman.

"I said get out of my lockerroom and take him with you." He got up and grabbed Maddox by the shoulder. "I don't know what your obsession is with me but you need to leave me alone," he shoved Maddox out of the lockerroom.

"You're going to be sorry Punk," Brad yelled as Punk slammed the door in his face.

"I already am! They should have let me beat you up back in September when you cost me match!"

Punk grabbed his bag. He knew he had told Heyman he would come out to help him but he was just sick of it all. No one respected him anymore.

There was a knock on his door.

"I said leave me…" he said as he started to say something but stopped at who he saw at the door. Now it was security guards. He was not going to get a break tonight that was for sure.

"Mr. Punk," one of the security guards said, "we are under orders to escort you out of the building," he said and opened the door further.

"Under orders from who?" He demanded.

"Vince McMahon," another security guard said.

Punk's brow furrowed. He knew that man. "Chris? What are you…"

They charged at him and knocked him to the floor. Punk tried to knock them off of him but there were too many.

"I told you that you were going to be sorry," Brad said coming into the lockerroom.

Punk was pulled roughly to his feet and he watched as Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns entered the lockerroom. Seth locked the lockerroom door.

DDD

Notes: just a nice start to what will not be a happy story for Punk.


	2. Attack

"What do you want," Punk demanded as he tried to get loose from the grip of several large men. He saw that the cameraman that had followed Maddox earlier was also in the lockerroom.

"Might as well take a seat Punk," Rollins said, "we need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," Punk said before he was roughly pushed down on a bench. "You are the reason I'm no longer champ!"

Ambrose smirked as he sat down across from Punk. "You paid us to make sure that you stayed champion. Not our fault if Vince overturns the match."

"I don't know what you're talking about Ambrose," Punk said as he started to stand. "I never hired you to help me." As soon as he was standing a swift kick to his left knee sent him back down. He grabbed his knee. It hadn't been that long since he had surgery to repair the torn meniscus.

"Well right now," Rollins said as he looked at a monitor in the room, "the world is watching a video that says differently."

Punk struggled to sit up and saw on the monitor a video of Heyman talking to Maddox backstage. He didn't understand what he was hearing. He didn't pay Maddox or the Shield. What was Paul talking about?

"That's bullshit and you know it! I didn't pay you or anyone to interfere in my matches."

"I can show everyone pictures of us talking backstage," Ambrose said, "they came from your DVD."

"I couldn't care less if you show that picture. It was taken over a year ago and I had hair. They'll be able to see you are lying."

"Enough talk," Reigns said. "Heyman will be back soon."

Paul's involved in this? Punk wondered.

"Kassius go ahead," Rollins ordered.

Punk turned his attention to his long time friend Chris Hero who wrestled under the name of Kassius Ohno in OVW.

Chris nodded and before Punk knew what was happening, Hero kicked him in the knee and then went to work on the knee. Soon other members of NXT joined him. They took turns hitting and kicking him in the knee.

"You shouldn't have thrown me out of the locker room Punk," Maddox whispered in his ear. "I was trying to warn you."

Punk didn't understand anything that was going on. He tried to fight them off but there were too many of them. Two very large hands circled around his throat and squeezed. Everything went black.

Reigns let go of Punk and dropped him.

"I see them coming!" Charlotte, who had been standing lookout, called from the door.

Reigns grabbed Punk by the throat and dropped him on the bench. They all quickly left the locker room after making sure no one was around.

* * *

"Let's just get our stuff and get out of here," Heyman said as he opened the lockerroom door. He was afraid of when Vince woke up. Brock had gone too far this time and he was worried for his job. He tried to call Punk one more time but didn't receive an answer. "I don't know where Punk is. He's not answering his phone"

He walked into the locker room and went to grab his stuff and saw that Punk's stuff was still there. He looked and found Punk lying down on one of the benches. Why was he asleep? He wondered. "Punk," He asked as he walked over to the former WWE Champion. Punk made no sign that he heard him. "Punk," he asked again and this time shaking his shoulder. He still received no response. He leaned down and looked at him closer and jumped back in surprise.

"Get the EMTs!" He yelled at Brock.

"We've got to go," Lesnar said as he grabbed his stuff not caring that Punk was hurt.

"I don't care. Get the EMTs now! Punk's not…" he wasn't the who knew CPR. And Punk looked like he might need CPR.


	3. Hospital

_Bad things do happen: How I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life._

_-Walter Anderson_

Lesnar hurried out of the room. Paul could only hope that he had gone to get the EMTs. "Come on Punk," Heyman said as he shook him. "Don't do this to me."

The locker room door opened as the ringside doctor came into the room. He quickly inspected Punk before starting CPR. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Paul yelled. "I found him like this! I didn't even know he was in the arena."

"He's breathing again," the doctor said. He took out his phone. "Where's the stretcher? Well as soon as you have him loaded, send the stretcher to Punk's locker room and tell the ambulance to stay there. I don't care what he says. We have a serious situation." He hung up the phone and began examining the injuries.

"Is Brock gone," Paul asked as he paced the room.

"Brock Lesnar? I haven't seen him. I received a text saying Punk was down in his locker room."

A few minutes later two EMTs wheeled a stretcher into the locker room. They quickly and carefully loaded Punk on the stretcher and wheeled him down the hall to a waiting ambulance.

Paul moved towards the ambulance when someone grabbed him by the arm. He turned around to see John Bradshaw Layfield standing there.

"Vince is in there and I doubt you'll be welcome in there."

Paul wanted to protest but knew JBL was correct. Punk needed a hospital and it wouldn't help his protégé if he got into an argument with Vince.

Wait. He thought. Vince had been the one to tell him that Punk had been escorted out of the building by security. Why was Punk still in his locker room?

The ambulance drove off before he could say anything.

* * *

Later that evening at the Las Vegas University Hospital Paul sat in the waiting room waiting for news on Punk's condition. He had already read on the Internet that Vince had a broken pelvis. The news that Punk was found in his locker room not breathing was all over the dirt sheet websites, TMZ, and even the real news sites. It made Paul angry that they were suggesting Punk had overdosed. He knew Punk. Straight Edge was his lifestyle and not a gimmick.

"How's Punk," a nervous voice said from next to him.

Paul was on his feet as soon as he saw who it was. "What are you doing here," he demanded.

"I came to see how Punk is. I uh heard about what happened."

"I'm sure you did. I'm also sure you had something to do with it since you are on the video!"

"Video," Brad asked chuckling nervously. "Oh right the video."

"Yes that video! You and I both know that wasn't me at the end of the video. I don't know what kind of game you and The Shield are playing but I don't find it one bit funny!"

"No game Mr. Heyman," he said nervously. "But you were in the video ordering The Shield to attack me."

"Well I remember it was ordering the cameraman to turn off the video and then telling you to leave myself and CM Punk alone! I left after that. You found yourself a good impersonator but everyone's going to realize that he, like yourself, is nothing but a phony!"

"Phillip Brooks?" A voice called from the doorway. Paul stood up and walked over to her.

"How is he?"

"Considering he was found not breathing, pretty well. He will, however, need knee surgery to repair the damage to his knee. He also has two bruised ribs and one cracked rib."

"May I see him?" Paul asked.

"Yes. He's in room 225."

"Thanks," Paul said before walking toward an elevator. He turned and saw Maddox following him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I wanted to see Punk."

"You are not going to see Punk until I find out what happened to him."

"Fine," Brad said and turned around and left the hospital.

Paul took the elevator to the 2nd floor and exited when it arrived. He stopped to check the room numbers before continuing down the hall.

He parted the curtains to room 225 and entered the room. The first thing he noticed was that the TV was on and on a news channel. It was a preview show for the Super Bowl. Punk was lying in bed with his eyes closed. His knee was in traction.

"You scared me kid," Paul said walking up to the hospital bed.

Punk's eyes fluttered open. "Hey," he answered weakly.

"What happened?" Paul asked.

"NXT were dressed as security guards and came to tell me that Vince ordered them to escort me from the building. They tackled me to the floor. Shield came in and…" his voice trailed off as he remembered something. "Did you hire the Shield and Maddox to interfere in my matches?"

"No!" Paul said barely keeping his voice down. "I swear to you that I did not hire the Shield or Maddox. That was an imposter." He sighed and then said, "so the Shield did this?"

"Mostly it was Chris Hero. He attacked my knee." His hands went up to his throat, which was still sore. "Reigns choked me and that's the last thing I remember." He was silent for a moment. "Did you call Chez?"

"Not yet," Paul answered, "I haven't called anyone yet."

"Breaking news," the TV said, "Pro wrestler Phillip Brooks, who wrestles under the name CM Punk, was found backstage at a WWE show not breathing. New reports are coming in saying that Mr. Brooks was attacked backstage and that the rumors that it was a drug overdose are unfounded. Mr. Brooks is recovering at a hospital in Las Vegas."

"Overdose?!" Punk yelled, "people think I overdosed?!"

"The internet is full of idiots," Paul said hoping to calm the younger man down. They didn't want the nurses to come in. "Now they know what really happened."

Punk calmed down a little bit. He reached out and rubbed his knee, which was beginning to hurt again. "I need knee surgery."

"I heard. How bad is it?"

"They are talking about reconstructive knee surgery. I'm going to be out for a long time."

Paul's heart sunk for his long time friend. He knew how much wrestling meant to him. "You could always come out with me and Brock."

"Maybe," Punk said but he closed his eyes and didn't say anything else. Paul stayed there until he was sure Punk was sleeping before he left the room. He had phone calls to make. He needed to get to the bottom of this.


	4. Contradicting Evidence

Notes: The Sheamus/Damian Sandow match starts the same but then Smackdown veers off in a different direction.

Smackdown on Friday was uneventful for the most part. Cole and JBL discussed what had happened on Friday and explained that John Cena would face the Rock at Wrestlemania.

During the Sheamus/Damian Sandow match, The Shield came out and attacked the former World Heavyweight Champion. Bo Dallas ran to the ring.

"There's the newest WWE superstar Bo Dallas," JBL said, "he won the right to compete in the Royal Rumble."

Bo Dallas looked at Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins and then turned to look at Sheamus before he attacked him.

"What?!" Cole yelled from the commentary table. "Dallas is attacking Sheamus!"

They knocked Sheamus out of the ring and Ambrose took a mic from Lillian and turned toward the camera. "Everyone wants to know who attacked CM Punk Monday night," he said. "We have come across footage showing who did it."

Everyone turned his or her attention to the Titan Tron where a grainy video started. The video showed CM Punk standing in the lockerroom glaring at Brad Maddox. There was no sound but it showed Punk shoving Maddox out of the locker room. The video changed to showing Punk opening the door and then him being knocked to the ground by an unseen force. The video faded out and then came into the view of Maddox leaning over an unconscious CM Punk.

"As you can see Brad Maddox was responsible for putting Punk in the hospital." Rollins said. "Probably as revenge for us beating him up a couple of weeks. We thought it was our duty to show the world who attacked Punk so that justice could be served."

"Brad Maddox did it?" JBL asked shocked. "He's so small! From what we've heard Punk had large bruises around his throat."

"Fans we will be airing an exclusive interview with the former WWE Champion from his hospital on Monday," Cole informed the TV audience.

The Shield left the ring.

* * *

The Monday after Punk's knee Surgery Josh Matthews entered the former Champ's hospital room with a mic and a cameraman in tow. Punk was still quite groggy because they refused his request to not give him any anesthesia.

"What are you doing here?" Punk asked as he pushed the buttons to raise his bed.

"We have an interview for RAW. Paul gave us permission to conduct the interview."

Punk blinked at him for a moment. "Oh right."

"Ladies and gentleman we are in the hospital room of the former WWE Champion CM Punk who recently had reconstructive knee surgery after being attacked by Brad Maddox last Monday."

Punk shook his head. "What?" He only had surgery three days ago. He couldn't be this out of it. "What did you say about Maddox?"

"That he was the one who attacked you Monday."

"Maddox didn't attack me Monday," Punk said. "The Shield and a bunch of the NXT wrestlers attacked me." He started to reach for the microphone from Josh when pain flared through his knee. He grabbed at his knee. Josh moved closer to Punk and held the mic up for him.

"CM Punk on Smackdown Friday the Shield showed video evidence of Brad Maddox attacking you in your locker room."

"Maddox had nothing to do with it." Punk said. "I don't know what kind of game the Shield is trying to play but I am getting out of this hospital next week and I'm going to be at RAW in Nashville. Now get out of my hospital room."

"But Punk," Josh said, "we have a lot of questions for you. We want to know how you feel about your rematch with Rock being cancelled and that it will still be Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania."

"Josh you…" Punk said trying to reach for Josh again but he had to lay back down as pain flared through his knee.

"I think you'd better leave," Heyman said from where he was standing next to the window.

"But…"

"I think you better leave right now before I have security throw you out!" Heyman yelled. "You are upsetting a man who just had major knee surgery and if he hurts his knee worse we will sue you!"

Josh and the cameraman made a hasty retreat from the hospital room.

* * *

In his own hospital room, Vice McMahon was watching the video intently before yelling at one of his assistants; "I want to talk to the Shield right now!"


	5. More Video Proof

Notes: I moved what happened this week on RAW to the next week pretty much.

* * *

RAW opened the next week with a video re-showing the attack on Punk and Punk's interview.

"Fans we've been told that Punk will not be here tonight. He had to have another surgery on his knee but his representative Paul Heyman is here tonight. He promises to have video proof to back what Punk said last week." Cole said.

"This should be interesting." Lawler said.

* * *

During the third hour of RAW, the ring was cleared out and set up for Miz TV. Miz was not happy about who his guest was. He did not like Paul Heyman or CM Punk. He was determined to prove that both men were lying about their involvement with the Shield. He was annoyed, but not surpr4ised, when Paul came out without being announced.

"Stop right there, Mr. Mizanin," Heyman said as he climbed into the ring with a mic.

"Paul I'm not ready for you to come out," Miz said trying to regain control of his show.

"I don't care," Paul said, "I'm tired of listening to you slander my name and CM Punk's name. CM Punk is in a hospital bed recovering from his third knee surgery in two months."

"Maybe you should have paid Brad Maddox better," Miz taunted.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell everyone this. I did not pay The Shield or Brad Maddox to interfere in CM Punk's matches. It's fairly obvious someone is pulling their strings and it's not me or CM Punk."

"There's video proof that says differently, Mr. Walrus."

"Video done with editing. I have video proof that backs what I'm saying."

Miz sighed. He didn't want to play the video but the fans were chanting for them to play it. "Roll the footage."

A video came up showing CM Punk lying in the same hospital room he was in last Monday. He was on his cellphone either texting or tweeting. Paul was talking to someone on his cellphone. The sound of curtains parting could be heard. Punk looked towards the doorway and dropped his cellphone on the bedside table. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Dean Ambrose's voice could be heard off camera saying, "we're just here to talk." He, Reigns, Rollins, and Ohno came into camera view. "You've been telling lies about us."

"What lies," Punk demanded. "I know who attacked me and it sure as Hell wasn't Maddox!"

"I suggest you leave," Paul said from his corner.

"Who's going to stop us," Reins asked as he walked closer to Punk's bed. "You? Or perhaps Punk who's in a hospital bed." His hand came dangerously close to Punk's knee.

"Reigns hold off," Rollins said. "We want you to go on TV Monday and say you were wrong about who attacked you. We want you to tell everyone that you are paying us to help you win matches."

"I'm not going out there to tell the world that. Those are lies and you know it!"

"Oh like you and Heyman have never lied," Ohno said from the other side of the bed. "Paul said on live TV that he lied every day as a promoter."

"I'm still not going to say it."

Rollins nodded at Reigns who made a move towards Punk's knee. Punk readied himself to fight him off.

"What is going on in here?" A new voice asked from the doorway.

"Nothing," Ambrose said, "we were just leaving." He, Rollins, Reigns, and Ohno left the room.

After the nurse finished checking Punk, Punk turned to Heyman and asked, "did we get it?"

"We got it," Heyman said as he shut off the camera.

Miz stood there staring at the screen unsure of what he had just seen. "So you got together with The Shield to make this tape."

"No, Mr. Mizanin," Paul said, "The Shield didn't even know that they were being filmed. I received a phone call from someone, who shall remain nameless, that Vince McMahon was sending The Shield to see if they could change CM Punk's mind. We didn't know when they were coming but we set up a camera just in case. As you can see from the video, The Shield was behind the attack on the former WWE Champion."

The Shield's music started to play. Paul and Miz looked through the stands trying to locate The Shield and found them coming from three different ways. The Shield stopped in the middle of the crowd mics in hand.

"You think you're so smart Heyman," Ambrose said, "filming our conversation with Punk. It proves nothing. So what if we were behind the attack? Maybe you should have paid us better."

"I've never paid you for anything! Vince McMahon is obviously behind this."

"Vince McMahon," Rollins asked with a smile on his face. "The man who tried to fire you until Brock Lesnar came out and broke his hip? Funny how we were breaking Punk the same time Brock was taking out Vince."

Heyman's face started to turn bright red from anger. "Are you trying to instigate that the two events are related? Punk said you your NXT friends jumped him in his locker room not long after he threw Maddox out. I'm sure you sent him to make sure Punk was alone. As soon as you saw Brock and I were coming, you ran. Does that sound like the truth to you Mr. Lopez?"

The Shield hurried into the ring and the Miz made a quick retreat. As soon as they stood on the ring apron, Brock Lesnar's music started playing. The Shield prepared to attack Lesnar. Lesnar entered the ring but soon the numbers game came into effect. When Lesnar went down, Sheamus, Ryback, and Cena came out. Brock rolled out of the ring. A few moments later he and Heyman left ringside.

"What does this all mean King," Cole asked, "who's telling the truth?"


	6. Released

Vince was not happy after watching RAW. He wondered who had told Heyman that The Shield was going to visit Punk? Whoever it was they were fired!

A nurse came in to administer pain medication, which gave Vince an idea. "I was wondering if you could tell me which room Philip Brooks is in. He works for me and I'd like to see him."

"I can find out for you. His name's Philip Brooks?"

"Yes. Thank you nurse."

She finished giving him the pain medication and then left the room. She came back a little later. "Mr. Brooks has been transferred to another hospital per his request."

"Which hospital?" Vince demanded as his temper rose.

"It didn't say sorry." She said and left the room.

Vince was seething. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised but how was he going to talk Punk to see how he found out?

* * *

Amy Dumas, who at one time wrestled under the name Lita, stood in Punk's hospital room.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Your doctor said that you aren't ready to be released."

Punk was sitting on the edge of his bed with his crutches leaning against the wall. "I know what the doctor said. I'm not going to stay here. I need to get to New Orleans. The doctor said that he couldn't recommend it but as long as I stay off my left leg he would discharge me. I need to be at Elimination Chamber."

"I'll go with you," Amy said taking his hand. "Did you tell Paul that you are being dispatched early?"

"I texted him. He said he'll meet us in New Orleans."

"Mr. Brooks," a nurse asked as she came into the room. "I have the discharge papers for you to sign."

"Thanks," Punk said as he took the forms from her. He signed them and handed them back to her.

An orderly came in with a wheelchair.

"Looks like your chariot awaits," Amy said as she grabbed Punk's bag. The orderly helped Punk into the wheelchair before arranging the crutches. He wheeled Punk towards the entrance.

"So how are we getting to the hotel," Punk said turning to face Amy.

"Cab," she said. "I have us booked on Spirit Airlines at 10:00 tomorrow morning. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to change your mind."

When they reached the entrance they got into a small line to wait for a taxi.

"I could give you a ride."

Amy and Punk turned to see Ohno standing there.

"No," Punk said as he and Amy moved closer to an awaiting cab. Some fans had seen him and had insisted they get the next cab.

"It's the least I could do."

"The least you could do?!" Punk said as Amy and the orderly helped him into the cab. "You are the reason I had to have knee surgery!"

"Look Punk I didn't have a choice. Let me give you a ride to the hotel and then we can talk."

"No," Punk said and slammed the door in Ohno's face. Amy got in on the other side. The cab drove off leaving a confused Ohno behind.

"I want to know what The Shield is up to." Punk said as he turned around to see Ohno talking to someone on his cellphone.

"Paul ever tell you who warned him about The Shield coming?"

"No. All he would say was that he couldn't tell me. He's protecting someone's identity." Punk leaned his head back and wished the cab were bigger because he didn't have much room to stretch out.

* * *

When Ohno returned to his hotel room he found Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins waiting for him.

"Looks like Chris is trying to play hero," Ambrose said as he sat down in a chair.

"I was just trying to get him to come here that's all," Ohno said as he opened his suitcase. "That way he would tell us who ratted us out. Look Dean," Ohno said as he started to pack his suitcase. "I'm not trying to help Punk if that's what you are worried about."

"You better not be," Rollins said. "NXT is going to take over the WWE again and with Punk out of the way, we will do it."

"Yeah well we gotta get back to Florida before we lose our jobs there. I did find out Punk will be at Elimination Chamber. If you want to take him out, that would be the place to do it."

Rollins smiled. "We've already taken him out. We just have to find out how to ruin his career in WWE."

* * *

Notes: Sorry for the short chapter. It just seemed like a really good place to stop.


	7. He's Back

True to his word Paul Heyman met Amy and Punk in New Orleans for the PPV. Punk was leaning heavily on his crutches and wondering if he was crazy for coming to the show. He felt like shit and really didn't want to watch other people wrestle. Rock wasn't on the show since Punk couldn't wrestle. Shield was wrestling Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback so he was interested in that but other then that, he didn't care about the show.

"Here," Heyman said as he met them at the entrance. He handed Punk and Amy a slip of paper.

Amy read it. "Skybox?" She asked looking at Heyman in confusion.

"Yeah figured Punk didn't want to be in the audience," Heyman quickly explained as he ushered them towards the skybox. He kept looking behind him. "I really need to stop renting you those. They are expensive."

"What's the hurry," Punk asked as he tried to hobble to keep up. The knee brace still felt too big.

"Hurry? No hurry," Heyman said though he didn't slow down. He held a door open and let Amy and Punk in. He closed the door. Punk shifted slightly and reached behind him. He half expected the door to be locked, which it wasn't.

He and Amy made their way through the skybox and found a cooler full of Pepsis and bottled water. There were some snacks too. They settled into the skybox.

They hadn't been sitting long before the fans swarmed the box looking for autographs. Amy signed them but Punk pretended not to hear or see them.

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them. He turned around to see a camera crew setting up.

"Well if Paul was trying to sneak us in, I think he failed." Punk said as he opened a bottle of water.

He stretched his leg out and watched as the arena filled. Where'd Paul go? He wondered as he reached for his cellphone. He checked his pockets. No cellphone. He knew he had put his phone in sweatshirt pocket because of the crutches so where was it?

"Did I give you my cellphone?" Punk asked.

Amy searched her purse. "No."

"I know I had it when we left the hotel and I'm pretty sure I didn't leave it in the rental. It's gone."

"Maybe it fell out of your pocket," Amy said. "I'm going to go look. I'll be right back." She said and left.

Punk sighed as he watched the youtube match between Rhodes Scholars and Lord Tensai/Brodus Clay. He looked at his watch thinking it was taking Amy a long time to look for his cellphone. He grabbed his crutches and then the lights suddenly went out. He briefly wondered if it was the Shield or the Undertaker making an appearance in the arena.

The lights came on and he was nose to nose with Ambrose. Punk was sure that Rollins and Reigns were behind him without having to turn around. Ambrose held up something in his hand.

It was his cellphone.

He dropped it on the floor.

As Punk looked down, Ambrose hit him square in the head and he struggled to keep from going down. He was having a hard time keeping balanced on his crutches. He swung one of the crutches at Ambrose and in doing so he dropped the other one. Ambrose backed up and someone grabbed Punk from behind.

"We told you to change your story Punk," Rollins said from behind him. "Now you're going to pay."

* * *

Amy stood backstage trying to remember anywhere else she and Punk had gone where the cellphone may have fallen. She had tried to call his cellphone and all it did was go to voice mail.

"Amy," a voice called from behind Amy. She turned around to see Paul Heyman standing there. "I've been looking for you guys everywhere."

"I was looking for Punk's cellphone. He must have dropped it somewhere in the arena."

"Where's Punk?"

"He's still in the skybox. He isn't very mobile with those crutches yet. I thought it would be easier if I were the one who went looking for it."

"Skybox? I thought you and Punk would hang out backstage or something. Maybe come out during the Shield promo."

"What are you talking about," Amy asked. "You were the one who rented the skybox."

"I didn't…" his voice trailed off. "Did I give it to you?"

"Yeah. You gave us the paper and showed us where the skybox was." Amy was wondering what was going on with Paul. He wasn't usually this forgetful.

"I haven't seen you or Punk since he checked into the second hospital. Damn it! The imposter's here! Where's the skybox?"

Amy led him to the skybox and tried the door. "It's locked."

"There has to be another way into the skybox," Paul said as he hurried down the corridor.

"I'll see if anyone has the key!" She called.

* * *

Punk knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was in deep trouble as he watched them toss the crutch he had dropped into the stands. He silently hoped it didn't hit anyone. He hoped it partly because he didn't need any more lawsuits for him causing injury.

He weighed his options. The last time he was on crutches, he was able to put a little pressure on his knee but this was different. He decided to take his chances and swung the crutch at Ambrose. He connected with his nose and Ambrose went down clutching at his nose. He swung around and hit Rollins in the knee but when he tried to hit Reigns, Reigns pulled the crutch out of his hands and tossed it away.

"Shit." Punk said looking at Reigns.

Reigns grabbed him by his throat and dragged him towards the edge of the skybox. The fans started screaming. Punk looked behind him and saw that he wouldn't fall far but with his knee injury a fall of any size wouldn't be good. He was shoved out of the skybox and he fell.


	8. Shocking Announcements

When Punk landed he landed on something hard that was most certainly not cement.

"Get off me Punk!" The person underneath him said. "You are a lot heavier then you look."

Punk sat up and sort of maneuvered himself off of the person who broke his fall. He was not sorry to see that the unlucky person was John Cena.

"Thanks for breaking my fall John Boy," Punk said as he started doing a mental check for any new injuries and was surprised to see he was mostly unhurt though his knee was sore.

"Punk!" Paul yelled as he pushed past Sheamus. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Punk said, "Cena broke my fall." He sat up with assistance from security. He looped up and saw The Shield looking down at him. He was glad to see that Ambrose's nose was bleeding and looked like it was broken.

"Here's the crutches," one of the backstage EMTs said as he came up to them. They helped Punk back up to his feet and handed him the crutches. He turned and then made his way to the ring.

He glared at the ring steps knowing he probably wasn't going to be able to climb them. Stupid ring steps he grumbled to himself. You'd think they'd come up with something else by now. He went over to Justin Roberts and grabbed a mic from him. He put it in his pocket and went back to the top of the ramp. Paul met him there.

"I swear it wasn't me," Paul said as Punk took the mic out of his pocket. Paul took it from him and held it for him.

"In case you didn't see it," Punk said, "I was just thrown out of the sky box by the Shield! This man," he said pointing at Paul "is being impersonated by some guy. Before you all think I'm crazy," Punk said, "the other guy was wearing different shoes!"

"You're a dead man Punk!" Reigns yelled from the Skybox before The Shield left again.

Punk smirked a little and then turned to face the camera again, "told you I had nothing to do with it." He then hobbled backstage followed by Paul Heyman.

Amy met them backstage. "Come on the trainer wants to check the knee."

"It's fine," Punk said. "A little sore but fine. Cena broke my fall."

"Let's just let the medic check it out. If it's hurt worse, we better find out now." Amy said as she walked towards the training room.

Punk looked at Paul before following her. He knew Amy was right.

When he entered the training room he found the trainer was already with someone. Amy and Paul stood outside of the room. He stood in the doorway and then smirked when he saw whom it was.

"Laugh all you want Punk," Ambrose said grimacing as the doctor examined his nose. "But The Shield will have the last laugh."

"Take a seat Punk," the trainer said without turning around. "I'll only be a few more minutes." He took out some gauze. "Looks broken to me. You'll need to go to the hospital to have it x-rayed but I am not going to clear you to wrestle tonight."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ambrose asked as he grabbed the gauze from the trainer and threw it against the wall. "I am not sitting this out."

The trainer picked up another roll deciding to pick up the first one later. "Well unless you want your nose broken worse, I would heavily suggest not wrestling." He taped up Ambrose's nose. "You should be good to go to the hospital."

Ambrose muttered a few curse words under his breath as he left the trainers room.

The trainer turned his attention back to Punk who was snickering.

"Cena came in complaining about 200 pounds falling on top of him. I assume that's you." The trainer said as he examined his knee.

Punk just threw a comedic affronted look at the trainer. "I'll have you know I'm a very slim and trim 180 lbs thank you"

Amy walked in with Paul at Punk's rejoiner and turned to the older man. "Isn't it like the sign of the apocalypse when male wrestlers start complaining about their weight?"

"He's always worried about his weight," Paul said with a mocking sigh. "You should see the stuff he drinks."

"I do when I'm with him in Chicago."

The trainer just shook his head. "Well Punk it looks like your knee hasn't been injured that much more."

"Yeah thanks to Cena I didn't hit the cement." Punk said as he looked down at his phone where he was looking at something. "Here's a picture." He said handing his phone to Amy so she could see a picture of Punk being thrown out of the skybox.

"And here's one of a flattened Cena," she said handing him back the phone.

The trainer's door opened and Vince McMahon entered the room on crutches.

Punk put his cellphone back into his pocket.

"I thought I'd find you three in here," he said. "I came in here to let you know, Punk, that you have been suspended."

"Suspended?!" Punk spluttered. "Suspended for what?"

"For injuring Ambrose's nose."

"Are you serious?!" Amy yelled. "They threw him out of the skybox!"

"They were defending themselves from Punk."

Heyman stared at Vince as if he had lost his mind. "They lured him into the skybox and then ambushed him and you are saying they were protecting themselves from him?"

"Yes well he's lucky I don't fire him for all the other things he has pulled to keep the title."

Punk grabbed his crutches from next to his chair and locked eyes with Vince. "I never hired the Shield to help me win matches." He started to leave. Amy and Paul were standing there staring at Vince.

Punk turned around and said two things that shocked everyone in the room and the people watching in the arena and at home. He said, "I quit!"

* * *

Notes: Thanks to Laurel for her help.


	9. Aftermath

As Punk, Amy, and Paul left the arena, Josh Matthews stopped them.

"Punk is it true that you have quit the WWE?"

"I'm tired of being accused of things I didn't do. Vince just tried to blame me for what happened in the Skybox! Well he finally got what he wanted. I quit," he said as he pushed past Josh. He barely held back the urge to trip Josh with one of his crutches.

He and Amy got into the rental car. Paul leaned in through Punk's window. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Amy and Punk drove off. Punk was glad they were staying the night in New Orleans because he wasn't sure his knee could take a long drive. His phone never stopped ringing but he did not feel like answering it. He silenced the phone and sent out a tweet that said:

I'm free!

He powered the phone off and closed his eyes.

* * *

He was stiff and definitely feeling the fall when they arrived at the hotel. Amy went in to check them in while Punk waited in the car. Ten minutes later Amy was opening the passenger door and handing him the crutches.

He hobbled his way inside the hotel and to the elevator. Amy pulled their suitcases in behind them. Punk fidgeted as they waited for the elevator to arrive at the 4th floor. They exited the elevator and made their way to room 421. Amy unlocked the door and allowed Punk to enter first. Punk sat down on the bed and stretched out his knee. Amy pulled the bags into the room and set them in the corner. She grabbed the ice bucket.

"I'm getting ice for your knee,' she said before leaving the room.

Punk flipped through the channels but didn't see anything worth watching. He turned his cellphone on ready for whatever was awaiting him.

There were three missed calls from Chez, one from his adopted mother, two from Colt, one from Lars, one from Joey Mercury, and three from the WWE. At the moment he didn't want to return any of their calls. He just wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes and didn't wake up when Amy placed ice wrapped in a towel on his knee.

* * *

The next morning bright sunlight woke him up. He turned his head and saw it was 9:14 AM. He had been asleep for almost twelve hours.

"Oh good you're awake," a voice said.

Punk struggled to sit up in bed. He knew that voice but what was he doing in his motel room. "Chris what are you doing here?" He demanded.

"I just want to talk," Hero said holding up his hands. "Amy let me in a couple of minutes ago."

"Where is she," Punk asked not trusting his long time friend and rival.

"I'm right here," Amy said from the doorway to the bathroom.

"How could you let him in here," Punk asked. "He's the one who injured my knee."

"All I want to do is talk," Hero said. "Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins don't know I'm here. Now that you quit, they probably won't care."

"Why are you here," Punk asked again.

"Look all I want to do is talk to you. What happened in Las Vegas was not my fault."

"Are you serious," Punk yelled, "you were the one who attacked my knee."

"But as I told you outside of the hospital, I wasn't given much choice! Ambrose wants to take over the WWE and decided to use everyone in NXT to do it. He decided to go after you because he knew you would be the biggest threat. Well that and Vince McMahon doesn't like you."

"I just knew Vince had to be behind all of this," Punk said grabbing his crutches, which were leaning against the wall. "He was so determined to get the belt from me."

"So Vince is helping NXT take over the WWE," Amy asked, "but why?"

"They never told me but I think Vince is still mad about no longer being COO so he's going to retake it using a bunch of 'rookies,'" Hero said using air quotes. "I am sorry about your knee."

Punk didn't say anything.

"But Punk you can't quit," Hero went on, "that's what Vince wants. Why do you think he's been after you?"

Punk sighed not wanting to agree with Hero but he knew he was right. He decided to ask a question that he wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer. "That wasn't Paul Heyman right?"

Hero smiled. "I don't know where they found this guy but they could be twins. Ambrose was furious that you figured it out." He looked at his watch and scowled. "I've got to go," he said and left the hotel room.

Amy sat down next to Punk on the bed. "Do you believe him?"

"I'm not sure yet," Punk said as he reached for his phone. He hit a number on his speed dial. It rang once and he said, "hey Paul where are you?"


	10. Field of Lies

"Are you sure you can trust Kassius Ohno," Paul asked as soon as he met Amy and Punk at a Blackhawks game. Punk had a little bit of trouble negotiating the bleachers due to his crutches but he had made it. The next problem he found was where to stretch out his leg. He ended up sitting sideways.

"I've been friends with Chris for over ten years. I know him pretty well. Almost as well as I know you guys and Cabana. He's not lying." He grimaced as someone accidentally pushed against his left leg as they walked by. "Besides. It really doesn't matter if he's telling the truth. It doesn't change anything and it's not my concern anymore."

"Excuse me Mr. Brooks," a voice said from beside them. They all turned to look at the usher. "The Blackhawks asked me to upgrade your seats. They thought you might be more comfortable in a skybox."

Punk had to fight back a laugh. A skybox? Well at least he knew the Shield wouldn't ambush him there. "Sure," Punk said as he, Amy, and Paul followed the usher to a skybox.

They were led over to three seats with more then enough room for Punk to stretch out his leg.

"Should we be concerned," Paul asked as they sat down. "A skybox?"

"It's not the first time I've been offered a skybox at the United Center. It comes with being a minor celebrity who loves the Blackhawks. I never ask for it or for free tickets. I just get, for lack of a better term, lucky sometimes. Enjoy the game Paul. We've got nothing to worry about."

* * *

"So do you think Punk believed you," Corey Graves asked Hero. They were hanging out in an empty locker room at NXT.

"I don't know," Hero said as he looked around the room again to make sure they were alone. "I think he wants something to believe. Ambrose, Rollins, Reigns, and even Heyman have all messed with his head. I've been friends with Punk for over ten years. I want to make it to WWE but not at the expense of Punk. He's a good friend and I let what Ambrose said get to me. What if we had ended Punk's career? Him quitting is one thing but what if his knee was inured so bad that he could never wrestle again?"

"Well then it would have been his problem and not yours," a voice said from the doorway. Hero and Graves looked up to see Ambrose there with a big smirk on his face. You tell Punk that we made you hurt his knee? I heard you tell him that we hired an actor to pose as Heyman. Gave him one truth and one lie. You are a real friend Hero. I'm sure he'll thank you for that as he's tearing you apart."

"Why does it matter what he believes?" Corey asked. "He quit. He's not coming back to the WWE. I mean shouldn't we worry about how to get rid of Cena?"

Ambrose's smirk grew wider. "Cena is our next objective unless you are friends with him too Chris."

"No," Hero answered.

"Good," Ambrose said. "Dusty's looking for you Chris. He wants to talk to you about the show."

"Thanks," Hero said and walked out of the lockerroom.

Ambrose waited until Hero was out of the lockerroom before turning to Corey. "Should we be worried about him turning on us?"

"No," Corey said quickly. "He was good friends with Punk. He feels guilty about what he did. He'll take Cena out without a second thought."

"Let me know if that changes," Ambrose said and walked out of the lockerroom.

Corey smiled as soon as Ambrose was gone. If only Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins really knew what was going on but he wasn't going to be the one to tell them.

* * *

Notes: So who's lying to who seems to be the real question this chapter. Was Ohno lying to Punk? Is Heyman lying to Punk? What's Graves up to? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out.


End file.
